The H1N1 flu strain claimed two lives this month, as the number of diagnosed influenza cases surged due to increased travel over Chinese New Year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 疾病管制局) said yesterday.

A new virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed five people is well adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with drugs that boost the immune system, scientists said on Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 疾病管制局) revealed yesterday that a 48-year-old man had been infected with angiostrongylus cantonensis (廣東住血線蟲) after eating undercooked snails.

Egg exports from Miaoli and Penghu counties have been banned by Hong Kong authorities due to recent cases of H5N2 avian flu, the deputy director of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said yesterday.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC, 疾病管制局) yesterday called for travelers to destinations in China, Southeast and Southern Asia to be properly inoculated following a recent report of rabies in the Philippines.

Stomach complaints are the most common reason given by Taiwanese who request medical assistance while traveling overseas, especially during the Lunar New Year holiday, the Taiwan office of International SOS said yesterday.

With flu cases in this city up tenfold from last year, the mayor of Boston declared a public health emergency on Wednesday as authorities around the United States scrambled to cope with a rising number of patients.

Those who work at convenience stores will be required to undergo examinations to see if they have contracted hepatitis A or typhoid fever, Department of Health (DOH) officials said yesterday.

Cases of diarrhea in emergency rooms across Taipei over the past four weeks have doubled compared to the same period last year mainly due to a widespread outbreak of the Norovirus, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.

Measles cases surged in Pakistan in 2012, and hundreds of children died from the disease, an international health body said Tuesday.